THE TELEGRAPH:
Austria Election Delivers Gains for Far Right: Mr Strache has campaigned for a ban on Islamic dress which, he said, made women look like "female ninjas". He also seeks to overturn strict Austrian laws banning the display of Nazi symbols, such as the swastika.
Senior Freedom Party officials used the elections to mourn the days when immigration turned Austria's sausage stands into kebab shops and to lament the good old days when Austrians ate schnitzel instead of "falafel, couscous or whatever that stuff is called". >>> By Andreas Sam in Vienna and Bruno Waterfield | September 28, 2008
THE GUARDIAN:
Extreme Right Emerges as Strong Force in Austria: Austria was shaken by a political earthquake yesterday when the neo-fascist right emerged from a general election as a contender to be the strongest political force in the country for the first time.
The combined forces of the extreme right took 29% of the vote, with Jörg Haider almost tripling the share of his breakaway Movement for Austria's Future to 11%, while his successor as Freedom party leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, saw his party soar to 18%.
The far right's vote doubled compared with the last election in 2006, putting it within less than a point of overtaking the poll victor, the social democrats. >>> By Ian Traynor, Europe Editor | September 29, 2008
MAIL Online:
Austria Races to the Right as Nearly a Third of the Voters Back the Extremists >>> By Allan Hall | September 29, 2008
THE INDEPENDENT:
Anti-Foreigner Campaign Boosts Austrian Far-Right: Populist far-right parties made sweeping gains in Austria's closely fought general election yesterday, making their strongest showing since 2000 when the country suffered EU sanctions after a far-right party won power for the first time since the Second World War.
The Freedom Party, led by Heinz-Christian Strache, gained more than 18 per cent of the vote – nearly doubling its share of support – after running a vitriolic campaign against "foreign criminals" and "asylum cheats" and pledging to take Austria out of the EU. >>> By Tony Paterson in Berlin | September 29, 2008
GLOBE AND MAIL:
Far Right Surges in Austrian Vote: The far right surged to almost a third of the vote in Austria's parliamentary election on Sunday, complicating prospects for the biggest mainstream party, the Social Democrats, to forge a stable coalition government.
The right's record showing heralded political instability in the affluent Alpine republic since the two main centrist parties will be hard put to re-establish a broad coalition even if they resolve the feuds that killed off their last alliance.
"Terrible," political analyst Anton Pelinka said of prospects for stable government in the near future.
"The strength of the far-right parties will make formation of a coalition incredibly difficult if you don't bring either into government," he told Reuters. Social Democrats have ruled out an alliance with the right over its anti-foreigner stances. >>> Reuters | September 28, 2008
WELT ONLINE:
Rechtsruck macht Regierungsbildung kompliziert: Mit zusammen fast 30 Prozent der Stimmen haben die rechtspopulistischen Parteien FPÖ und Jörg Haiders BZÖ in Österreich enorme Gewinne verzeichnen können. Eine Regierungsbildung wird jetzt schwierig. Denn Wahlsieger SPÖ will auf keinen Fall mit den Rechten koalieren.
Nach der Wahlschlappe bei der österreichischen Parlamentswahl berät die konservative Volkspartei (ÖVP) über die Zukunft von Parteichef Wilhelm Molterer und die Koalitionsoptionen. Die Sozialdemokraten (SPÖ), die sich als stärkste Partei halten konnten, schlossen eine Minderheitsregierung nicht aus. >>> | 29. September 2008
DIE PRESSE:
Ausländische Pressestimmen: ''Haider wiederauferstanden'' >>> | 29. September 2008
THE JERUSALEM POST:
The End of Austrian-Israeli Relations?: Sunday's Austrian election could mean a break in diplomatic relations between Israel and Austria if extreme right-wing parties enter a coalition government. Heinz-Christian Strache, who leads the Freedom Party, took part in paramilitary activities with neo-Nazis in the late 1980s and has been known to use the Nazi salute.
According to polls, the Freedom Party could garner close to 20 percent of the vote. In 2000, the inclusion of the Freedom Party in the Austrian government prompted Israel to recall its ambassador to Vienna.
Then-prime minister Ehud Barak said the party's presence in the government "should outrage every inhabitant of the world."
"The Jewish people, wherever it may be, led by the State of Israel, will never allow the world to conduct business as usual in light of the events in Austria and their possible implications," Barak said at the time.
In a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post last week, Dan Ashbel, Israel's ambassador in Vienna, said, "We are very concerned about the situation and parties who are xenophobic and base their policies on xenophobia. It is a danger and it is a very sad fact that this repeats itself." >>> By Benjamin Weinthal. Berlin | September 28, 2008
LE MONDE:
Forte progression de l'extrême droite en Autriche: Selon les premiers résultats, les deux partis d'extrême droite auraient réalisé, dimanche 28 septembre, un score historique aux élections législatives autrichiennes. Les sociaux-démocrates, bien qu'en recul, arriveraient en tête, devant les conservateurs.
Deux estimations estiment que le SPÖ (sociaux-démocrates) obtiendrait autour de 29 % des voix, en recul de près de 6 points par rapport à 2006. Les conservateurs de l'ÖVP ne récolteraient que 26 % des suffrages, en chute de 8 points. Le parti social-démocrate, l'un des plus vieux partis politiques européens, fondé en 1885, et les démocrates-chrétiens du Parti du peuple (ÖVP) enregistrent leur plus mauvais score depuis le début de la République autrichienne, en 1918. Les Verts, autour de 10% des voix, sont en léger recul par rapport aux 11,5 % récoltés il y a deux ans. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP et Reuters | 28.09.2008
LE FIGARO:
Forte poussée de l'extrême droite en Autriche: La gauche arrive en tête des législatives tandis que les conservateurs accusent une chute de près de neuf points.
Les Autrichiens sauront-ils se façonner une coalition stable après les législatives anticipées de dimanche ? Rien n'est moins sûr. Les sociaux-démocrates (SPÖ), bien qu'en net recul, sont arrivés en tête, mais le vrai gagnant est l'extrême droite, en très forte hausse, selon les résultats officiels provisoires, annoncés dimanche soir par le ministère de l'Intérieur. >>> Stéphane Kovacs (avec AFP, Reuters) | 29.09.2008
CORRIERA DELLA SERA:
Austria, trionfo dell'estrema destra: La coalizione al governo per la prima volta sotto il 60%, mentre la Fpoe e la Bzoe di Haider totalizzano il 30% >>> | 28 settembre 2008
LA REPUBBLICA:
Parla Heinz Christian Strache, trionfatore a Vienna: "Pronto alla cancelleria vecchi partiti, addio": VIENNA - In Austria è finita l'epoca di un sistema politico dominato da due partiti. Socialdemocratici e cristiano-popolari, grandi fino a ieri, sono stati ridimensionati e adesso devono fare i conti con noi, la vera nuova destra. Così parla alla tv Orf Heinz Christian Strache, il giovanissimo (39 anni) vincitore delle elezioni politiche di ieri in Austria, ex delfino e rivale di Joerg Haider. … >>> di Hans Buerger | 29 settembre 2008
NEW ZEALAND HERALD:
Poll Boost for Hardliners as Voters Punish Feuding Govt: PARIS - A spectacular advance by anti-immigrant, far-right groups in elections in Austria yesterday will raise questions about the country's stability and fuel concerns about the lure of the xenophobic siren song in Europe.
Two extreme right groups together picked up 29 per cent of the vote for Parliament, while two centrist parties, locked in a feud-riddled governing alliance over the past 18 months, polled their lowest scores since the end of World War II.
The Freedom Party under Heinz-Christian Strache gained 18 per cent, an increase of 7 percentage points over the last ballot in October 2006, and Joerg Haider's Alliance for the Future of Austria nearly tripled its score, to 11 per cent, according to preliminary official figures.
Both targeted working class voters alienated with the establishment parties. >>> By Catherine Field | September 30, 2008
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